How the hell to cope with bunions?!

Good grief - that looks so painful I had no idea they could get that bad ….

Barefoot shoes.

Images being reviewed atm

Mine were horrific. Both feet. The first few days were BAD pain wise, after surgery but lessened after about day 4. I so wish id got referred sooner to have surgery, they were hugely limiting my life and exceptionally painful.

Have you tried ibuprofen gel?
I only wear wide fit flat shoes with cushioned insoles or wide fit trainers. And usually the pain is barely noticeable, but I saw the doc when I did have a lot of pain for a while and they said to use the gel and it helped so now use if I have a flare up of pain.

I have orthotic insoles which have made a huge difference to mine but having seen lots of different podiatrists I firmly believe that it’s as much an art as a science and a lot of them are really shit, I travel to see a good one every couple of years now and won’t see anyone else (his name is Rob Saunders, private but affordable practice about an hour north of London). you do have to wear the absolute most sensible footwear, keep feet strong and I would imagine not being overweight probably makes a big difference, and addressing any gait issues.

I’ve just consulted Dr Google ! And apparently the bunions are not painful, it’s inflammation within the bunions that causes the pain !!

@Free2roam That's really interesting what you say about the 2nd bunion being better when your gait changed. Perhaps that's what happened to me. I'm glad you're free from pain and enjoying your walking now.

I have every sympathy for you OP. It's bloody painful. Sometimes I felt one of my big toes had dislocated.

I had surgery on one foot and the pain, even in the first few days, wasn't as bad as the pain I'd regularly suffered just walking with my bunion. Interesting to read @DwayneDibleysTeeth 's post as the process has obviously changed hugely over the years. I had the operation with an epidural so was awake throughout, it was a day patient thing, home by teatime. I was in a boot for a month, no plaster.

I had planned to have surgery on my other foot (not so bad a bunion as the first) but thought I'd try a podiatrist first. She was brilliant. With exercises, a prosthetic and some tips I am pain free and didn't have the surgery.

My bunions (even the better of the two) are/were much worse looking (think three times as bad) than yours.

The key tip to avoid pain is to wear a wide shoe. A narrow toe box is your worst enemy. Josef Siebel shoes really work for me. Not the prettiest, but my God they are comfy.

Stretch your calves.

Stand on a step and let your heels drop down over the edge.
Stand on an slope, facing up hill so your toes are higher than your heels. Bend your knees and squat down. (This stretches the front of your ankle) Do both every day a dozen or so times. This will make a difference I promise.

You mention pain at night. Do you have heavy bedding or a duvet that overhangs the bed. Bedding that pulls your toes down towards or away from you will cause pain to bunioned feet. I can't stand it when on holiday the sheets are tucked in a the bottom - ohhh the pain.

I don’t think the angle looks too bad, but it does look quite red and inflamed. Could it be something like bursitis or gout causing the pain?

I had bunions that were preventing me from enjoying walking and getting worse. It even hurt in bed against the mattress! Luckily I had health insurance through work and the worse side was covered but the other side (although painful) wasn't bad enough angle wise to justify operating.
The op was extremely painful for about 4 weeks and I wondered why on earth I'd done this to myself, however it was absolutely the best thing I've done. I am now walking 9 miles in a day with no pain at all and the other bunion no longer hurts. I think the way I was walking previously meant I was putting more weight on it.
So so glad I had it done.
Hope this helps you op

Mine are worse too, do cause pain but I still don't qualify for the treatment. I don't know how bad they have to be, especially if causing pain.

Look at ‘barefoot’ style shoes that don’t push the big toe towards the other toes- also toe spacers and foot strength exercises.

Mine are slightly worse than yours and not tooooo painful. I am also interested about getting the surgery

Golly mine are worse than yours but don't cause pain. Maybe because I've switched to low heel and more square toed or rounded shoes/trainers - hate the look of mine. My sis trained her feet in her 20s by using those toe separators/bunion trainers you can buy and it seems to have done the trick and her feet are much nicer looking and no pain so far. Now in our 50s.

Oh bless you! I have bunions too so I empathise. For ages I’d get sharp or throbbing pains in my toe joints on just a short walk.

Pain is much less now that I don’t wear women’s shoes any more - I either wear stability running trainers, or hiking boots with insoles, often wide fit or men’s to give more room. No podiatry services in my area so no hope of an operation if they deteriorate as there’s no way to get a referral.

Ive found calf strengthening exercises have helped too, as I have bad over pronation also.

I hope you get some support soon OP.

My podiatrist recommended Geox shoes. Or you could try wide fit as others have suggested. And no heels.

Mine are far worse than yours too - and I don’t have pain …. It’s odd, I wonder what causes the pain if not the size ??

Mine are worse than yours but they're not painful unless I wear narrow shoes. I always look for soft leather/suede shoes or wide fit shoes and that seems to prevent them from being painful.

Excuse the ugly foot! Mine is at a very early stage, I’m hoping I can still somehow stop it in its tracks.

Have you tried all of these? I noticed an early bunion a couple months ago, and am beginning to grow alarmed at how bad it can get.

I think ‘bunion’ is a terrible name for them. There’s something about that word that belittles the severity of how badly a dislocated toe joint can impact your mobility and quality of life.

I know I know, I’ve missed the point of this thread, but why have you scribbled over your toes in an effort to disguise them ? Surely a foot pic won’t reveal your ID.